my boys' first school picture...

changes...

Blaine said goodbye to one of his favorite speech therapists today.  She accepted another position that is perfect for her.  And we're happy for her, we really are, but we're also going to miss her.  About a year ago, Michael and I had gotten into a tiff (the argument was my fault, let's just get that out there)...and he decided to take Blaine out somewhere so that I could "cool off".  I have to believe that our fight was providential.  The boys went to Chick-Fil-A...they have great food AND a play place...so it's win-win in our book.  Unbeknownst to Michael, a special event for AG Bell (Alexander Graham Bell Association  for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing) was being hosted there.  Miss Taylor was present and noticed Blaine's hearing aids.  She asked if they were there for 'said event', to which Michael replied "No, I've never even heard of AG Bell before.".  She explained their purpose and told him where she worked (Clarke School).  Short story long, she took Blaine under her wing from the beginning and got him to where he is today.  Without her, we wouldn't have been able to get him into his school (a once in a lifetime opportunity, I assure you).  And seriously, all because of a fight!    Her caring and dedication have meant so much to us as a family and to many others.  She will be definitely be missed!

How do we move on from something we can't change?

disney world part III

Sis and I chillin out....notice the special effects, lol.

Blaine sitting in the teacup (I love his dimples :).  This ride made me ill because Michael and a father in another teacup were having some kind of "Who can go fastest?" competition.  It's funny now that I think about it!

This was a cool view of the castle.  I made B-bop rock climb his way up there.  Haha, just kidding.  It did take some effort to hoist him up there though.

The end of "It's a Small World", which I loved.  It's nice and cool in there, you get to sit down....so refreshing!  Plus, the animatronics (I'm sure I've spelled that wrong) were adorable!  We also got to ride "The Carousel of Progress" and I probably loved that the most....but alas, no pictures :(.  

Some of my pictures are out of sequence, sorry.  Anyway, this is Blaine and Mike getting ready to go through "It's a Small World".  We just loved being together as a family here.

The stocks, the stocks.  "What terrible crime hath my son and beloved committed?"  Probably almost making me hurl whilst on the Teacups.

I thought that Frontier-land was the most fun area.  That's probably because it was a little less busy.  Blaine was taken by the hand and led to a dance.  It was just too cute and he really had a lot of fun!  I'll post the video of it sometime (don't hold your breath though).  He had just purchased this Mickey wizard hat too.

This is as close as we could get to Woody and Jessie.  He really, really wanted to meet him but the line closed just as we got there. So a picture from the distance was taken.  He was a pretty good sport about it, actually.  I told him that Woody had to go get ready for the parade.

Alayna is wearing the hat that Blaine picked out for her...she looked like a princess!  Disneyworld was made for this girl!

TURKEY LEG!!!!!!!!  This was at the top of my 'Got to do, list'.  Blaine's too.  It was ginormous, delicious and delightfully greasy.  It literally was big enough to feed all three of us.  Alayna got her own and, I'm sure, was overwhelmed.  This is probably the best picture of me ever taken.  Oh, and I'm wearing my Minnie ears (I love them so much that I wear them around the house just for kicks sometimes).

This was the little surfer boy in "It's a Small World".  I told you the picture order was all cockamamie.

This was the one Alayna really really wanted to see.  The Tiki Tiki Room was awesome!  It was a fun show and we liked singing along :).

The boys are having their evening treat, yummy ice cream!  Michael and I shared an ice cream float that was tasty.  Blaine looks like he's digging right in there.

It was the girls turn to be in the stocks.  Unbeknownst to Alayna, I was making a silly face.  She just looks happy to be there, or something.

disney world part II

Blaine wanted to ride the ferry as opposed to the tram.  I'm glad he did, it was a nice ride and not as crowded.  The view was pretty too.

By this point, Blaine was literally shaking with excitement.  We've been counting down for a long time.

Auntie Layna having a good time with Walt and Minnie.

Yeah, yeah we got a stroller.  It was a loooong day and I'm glad we had gotten it by the end.

Had to put my arm around this guy :).

I know Maleficent is evil and all, but she is so cool! 

I'm not quite sure what Blaine is doing in this picture, lol, but we sure were excited to get into Tomorrowland.

I love this shot of Blaine with the balloon Alayna got for him.  I wish I had a picture of his face here, he was absolutely thrilled with it all...and I have to admit it, as soon as I stepped into the Magic Kingdom - it really did feel like magic!

We rode the Stitch "ride".  It was cute but I could have done without the belch breath from Stitch.  Nasty!

The race track was so neat!  Alayna and I hung out in the stands to cheer the boys on.  They were so cute crossing the finish line :).

The girls' tired feet.  And to think, we still had hours to go yet!

what a lovely lovely time...

Sooooo my sister (from Oregon) surprised me with a visit. It.  Was.  Epic!  And then she tells me that she's coming to Disney World with us.  Seriously, so much fun!  I'd already seen my other sister off to Disney World and was unable to go with her (very sad).  Second chances are awesome.

We had a room booked for months and I couldn't wait to see if it was as nice as it looked on line.  It was.  

They had this adorable "towel" elephant waiting for us, it was cute :).

I'll post the actual Disney pics later.  Toodles!

I realized that this video is jumpy and disjointed, but I wanted to show you how big the event actually was.  There were about 1,000 people there, with 620 runners.  Tons of ice cream after the races were over (yum!)...we kind of pigged out.

This is Blaine and his lady friend, Jordan, practicing for their 100yd dash.  They did so well and had a ton of fun!

Michael ran his first 5k and didn't do too bad considering it was the coldest day of the year here (not really, but it felt that way at 6 o clock in the morning sans sun).  He ran it in 25 minutes flat and came in 69th out of 620 people.....soooo amazing!!!

Enjoy!

little every day things..

Michael left the house this morning to report for jury duty.  I am soooo jealous!  It's always been a dream of mine to do, but no such luck :(.  He can't even tell me what it's about...and I'm a nosy person.

Blaine was kept up last night by lightning.  I didn't know this until I picked him up from school and got word back from his teachers...oops, sorry bud!  I kind of liked the light show.

Got some new tennis shoes, why am I so excited?!  Because they're awesome, that's why.

The Kilwin's Ice Cream Run is coming up this Saturday and we need to make some signs to show support for Michael who's running the 5K.  Go Team Vorwaller!!!!

Just a little lookie into our lives this week :).
L~

yeah, it's valentines day again....

No seriously, I say this every year and I really do mean it.  I do!

blaine turns 6....

I cannot believe that my lil one is 6 today (happy and sad).  Happy Birthday Blaine, you've been 6 years of heaven!  I love you~

familia....

me and my lil sis....

together.....(of course, my eyes are closed argh!)

lil bit of history....

Princess Alice (mother of Prince Phillip) was born deaf but could read lips in several languages.  Later in life, after being diagnosed with schizophrenia, she spent some time in a asylum.  When released, she devoted her life to charity.  What an interesting, intelligent and strong woman to go through so much and still be able to give to others.

I'll post more pics later, but I wanted to show you this lovely one of Blaine and his cousin Ethnie.  They've been having a great time together~

confessions...

I just ate an ice cream cone for breakfast....and I waited to do so until I had dropped Blaine off at school.  I'm a MONSTER!!!!

my DIY....

the beginning:  I've been searching for a piano lamp for AGES!  They are rather expensive so I've been making my way to thrift shops.  I finally found one at my local Goodwill for $4.00.

the middle:  The lamp I purchased was dull and pretty rusty.  I purchased some fine sandpaper and rubbed bronze spray paint.  The total for that was $7.00.

the end:  Yeah, I'm not a great photographer, but anyway...this is the end result.  It doesn't look too shabby if I do say so myself.  And I only spent $11.00.  It was well worth it and I had fun too!

yup, that's ma' kid...

I sometimes wonder if my child can take a "normal" picture.  He's like me that way actually, we get so awkward in front of the camera.  But being such a cutie, I think he can get away with it :).

P.S.  The first picture is of him using this apparatus (a nose guard and balloon) to relieve ear pain.  It works but looks soooo silly!  The second picture is just Blaine being Blaine.

2013, here we come....

blaine at the park being all cute...

2012 wasn't a bad year, in fact, I thought it was pretty good.  I only hope that this New Year will be just as awesome, if not better.  I'm guessing you all made new year resolutions?  It's become a kind of tradition where we all sit down as a family and write our new goals for the year.  We each made five.  You know the usual, get healthy, more scripture reading, world domination... pretty average stuff.  What are your own resolutions for 2013?

the kindness of strangers....

I know that I've recently done a post on random acts of kindness.  But seeing as we're in the throes of Christmas, I thought I'd do another.  You see today, I was the recipient of some random acts of kindness.  No details, don't worry, but so many people really came through to make a tough day not-so-tough.  Just when I get down and feel as if the world is becoming a rather hard-hearted place, there's a kind stranger around the corner telling you it's not so.  Don't give up hope...even when recently faced with such tragedy and heartbreak there is love out there....

in honor of...

So guess what?  The Hobbit comes out in theaters tomorrow!!!!  I have been waiting for this day since the end of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  And now it's here *sob*!!!!  To be honest, the Hobbit was my favorite of Tolkiens.  So in honor of the tremendous occasion, I am offering up this video.  This dude is hilarious and talented.  Enjoy!

P.S.  He also has a video for Harry Potter....it's wonderful lol.

the countdown begins...

So I put Blaine in his new fleece Christmas PJ's, but I did not know that it was going to be 80 degrees out the next day.  When will I learn Florida......WHEN WILL I LEARN?!?!